“Barnehagens rom og barns hverdag – utvalgte funn om organisering av barn, rom og tid”.

The purpose of this study is to identify potentially relevant conditions regarding organisation of children, space and time at daycare centres, which can enhance or limit children’s possibilities to play, learn and develop. Organisation means how daycare centres, on the basis of a specific child group, organise their resources regarding staff, space, equipment and time, and how this is expressed in the choice of organisation model (for instance bases or department structure, no departments, or some other form of organisation), use of space, daily rhythm and time. The study poses the following research questions: 1. How are children’s space and time organised at their daycare centre? 2. Are there correlations between the daycare centre’s organisation model and organisation of children, space and time?

The authors find no clear patterns in the correlation between the daycare centre’s organisation and different space and time conditions which influence the children’s day at the daycare centre. However, there are differences between the various types of organisation. In some areas, such as the size of the group of children, children’s access to rooms without help from adults, and possibilities for uninterrupted play, base-organised daycare centres seem to have greater challenges than daycare centres with other organisation. Thus the study indicates that all types of organisation have advantages and disadvantages, and that the choice of organisation model has consequences for the organisation of the children’s day.

The study has a descriptive and exploratory approach to the topic, as not enough research-based knowledge exists on organisation of children, time and space. Data material consists of replies to questionnaires collected among daycare-centre managers and pedagogical managers. The study includes replies from 117 daycare centres, in which both the daycare-centre manager and at least one of the pedagogical managers, often a child carer, have answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions regarding characteristics of the daycare centre, staff group, outdoor environment, pedagogy, cooperation with parents, self-evaluation and management. Data material was analysed using the statistics software program SPSS.

Martinsen, M.T. & Moser, T. (2011). “Barnehagens rom og barns hverdag – utvalgte funn om organisering av barn, rom og tid”. I: Hoel, T.L., Guldal, T.M., Dons, C.F., Sagberg, S., Solhaug, T. & Wæge, K. (red.): FoU i Praksis 2010. Rapport fra konferanse om praksisrettet FoU i lærerutdanning. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk Forlag. 317-329.